The anatomy of a de Blasio appointee's resignation

Shola Olatoye, chairwoman of the New York City Housing Authority, is stepping down in the wake of a spate of negative news reports and increasingly bitter political recriminations. Political observers may have felt a creeping sensation of déjà vu at the departure: It resembled the premature exits of other appointees of Mayor Bill de Blasio, including Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte in 2017, and Administration for Children's Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion the year prior, and top homelessness overseers before that.

The stages of a de Blasio administration official's exit have become clear:

1. The omen.

The public learned about a probe into lead contamination in NYCHA developments in March 2016, as reports arose that then–U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara had obtained documents from the long-troubled housing agency. In Ponte's case, late 2016 reports by then-Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and city Comptroller Scott Stringer—frequent de Blasio critics—highlighted rising violence on Rikers Island. Carrion first came under fire the same year upon the death of 6-year-old Zymere Perkins allegedly at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend.

2. The scandal.

A joint Federal Bureau of Investigations–city Department of Investigation report revealed in November 2017 that Olatoye had filed paperwork with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development falsely claiming her agency had inspected apartments for lead hazards. DOI found in April 2017 that Ponte had spent several months' worth of time outside the city, visiting his home village in Maine, all while using his city vehicle. The oversight agency faulted other Correction brass for abusing their taxpayer-funded auto privileges. News quickly broke out that Carrion's agency had investigated Perkins' home before his killing but had taken no action. Just months later, 3-year-old Jaden Jordan died, apparently from injuries inflicted by his mother's paramour, and despite neighbors' tips to ACS.

3. The blame game.

In each case, the mayor stubbornly insisted—often contrary to facts—that his appointees had done nothing wrong. In Olatoye's case, he pointed the finger at the federal government for underfunding public housing, and insisted that she had not realized many of the documents she signed off on contained inaccurate information (even though the federal government noted she had effectively confessed to knowingly submitting false documents). The mayor maintained, in the face of DOI evidence, that Ponte had received instruction from his Bloomberg administration predecessors that he could use his city auto as he pleased. De Blasio similarly maintained all the problems at ACS had their roots in former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration.

4. The pile-on.

De Blasio critics from all levels of government capitalized on both the scandals themselves and the mayor's stubborn support for the responsible agency head. Public Advocate Letitia James, an erstwhile de Blasio ally, demanded the resignation of both Olatoye and Carrion—in part to distinguish herself from the present administration as she looks to run for mayor or state office in 2021. Ambitious city Councilman Ritchie Torres and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., another 2021 mayoral hopeful, also went on the attack against the mayor and his commissioners. Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters and Stringer continued to generate critical reports of the mayor's agencies, though—as white males—both stepped gingerly around directly targeting Carrion and Olatoye, perhaps in consideration of the support they would need from minorities in future runs for office.

African-American Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, another Gracie Mansion aspirant and a de Blasio ally, also called for reforms at each city entity while avoiding direct critiques of the mayor's appointees.

Meanwhile, increasingly harsh media reports proliferated in each case. More news of violence and mismanagement at Rikers emerged, and reporters highlighted contradictions and inconsistencies in de Blasio and Ponte's public statements. Tales of internal strife at ACS spread. A NYCHA tenant whose daughter had suffered lead poisoning won a multimillion-dollar settlement, and a group of residents sued.

In the case of NYCHA and ACS, the ultimate de Blasio foe intervened: Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The state appointed a monitor to oversee ACS, and Cuomo engaged in an ultra-political string of public tours with NYCHA tenants to humiliate the mayor—though the governor, another white male counting on black female votes, avoided criticizing Olatoye by name or pronoun.

5. The resignation.

Ultimately, despite the mayor's dogged and indignant defense of his administrators, each ultimately stepped down. Carrion exited in December 2016, just ahead of a damning state report on ACS's handling of the Perkins case. Ponte announced his retirement in May 2017. And Olatoye finally took off Monday night, five months into the lead-inspection fiasco. In each case, de Blasio continued to praise his lieutenants and refused to admit that their exits had anything to do with scandal. Stringer and James generally released tempered statements, while Torres and Diaz Jr. were exultant ("The resignation of Chair Shola Olatoye should be seen for what it is: less a choice than an inevitable consequence of collapsed credibility," Torres said). Adams praised Carrion and Olatoye on the way out.

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